User blog:Ratigan6688/My Opinions on the Dreamworks Animated Films: Part 3
Hi Guys. Here is part 3 of my review blogs for the Dreamworks animated movies. This part will be covering Monsters vs Aliens through The Croods. Monsters vs Aliens When Monsters vs Aliens was coming out, I wasn't too sure of it. I thought the title was lazy, since there really isn't too much of a difference between them, and Dreamworks broke its 2 films per year tradition and released only this film in the spring. But for what it was, I thought it was a pretty good flick. I admire how this was the first Dreamworks female protagonist...er, human-ish protagonist at least, and the monsters seemed like her comic relief sidekicks. That's pretty sweet. Susan, or Ginormica as the government renames her is a delightful heroine. Reese Witherspoon's voice work makes her sound young and sweet, and her clumsy awkward personality makes her funny. The monsters themselves are also funny, particularly Dr. Cockroach and Bob. Dr. Cockroach being a satire-like version of a mad scientist is silly, like when he does his mad scientist laugh. Bob is downright hilarious! He literally has no brains which gets him into stupidly funny moments. Like when he thinks he's the other characters, or when he thinks Derek cheated on him-LOL! He never fails to make us laugh. The Missing Link I didn't find that funny, but he was okay as a stand-alone character. His relationship with Insectasauraus was charming. Gallaxhar is a cool villain. What he is doing is evil of course, but he makes it seems like what he's doing is what he has to do, at least when he announces his plan to Earth. When he clones himself, he keeps interrupting himself so we never know what he's gone through. It's both crazy and funny at the same time. I'd say my only problem with the film is the design of the other human characters. They just look a little er...grossly weird. Also, a lot of people didn't like Derek's selfish treatment of Ginormica. I have to agree with them. But for the most part, Monsters vs Aliens is nice. It's not a classic, but it has enough charms to see for an hour and a half. How To Train Your Dragon I have to admit, I have mixed opinions about How To Train Your Dragon. There are things I like about it, but other things not very much. I'll get my downsides overwith first. My complaints are more centered on some of the awkward lines, particularly when Hiccup says wrong things at the wrong time. For instance, he asks if anyone has tried to train a dragon in the middle of training and Gobber says, "No one's lived to tell the tale. Now GET IN THERE HICCUP!" Yeah, not well thought out lines. There are also some times when Hiccup seems to awkwardly let everyone know that he's sneaking away, which gives too much suspicion, particularly with Astrid. And speaking of which, Hiccup's initial relationship with Astrid also made me uncomfortable. The scene where she directly scolds him about having to choose a side is my least favorite scene in the movie. I know she meant well for Berk, but I honestly have trouble with feedback even if it was true. But okay, I've complained about the movie enough. What DO I like about How To Train Your Dragon? The first thing that pops up is the animation. If you look at the dragons, they almost look like they are real dragons. And the fire they breathe? It looks like real fire! In addition, the flight scenes look like you are a part of the movie. The heights, the movements, the list goes on. Also, Hiccup's relationship with Toothless is what captures the movie most. Hiccup uses his talents to discover more about dragons and all his hard work brings an end to the war between them and the vikings. So it teaches us that everyone can contribute in different ways. Also, after all the rocky moments with Astrid, she does learn to accept Hiccup and she becomes a more likable character. All in all, despite some of the film's problems, How To Train Your Dragon is a worthy Dreamworks work of art. I am still glad I saw it, and I can't wait to share my opinions on its sequel. Shrek Forever After Out of all the Shrek films in the series, Shrek Forever After is definietly my least favorite. My best 2 adjectives to describe it are pointless and unnecessary. SOme of the finale build up is okay, like with all the pictures from the previous films near the credits, but for the most part this film just didn't need to come out. It feels more like an episode from a TV show than a movie. Shrek and Fiona had kids at the end of the 3rd film and Far Far Away had a new king. That was a good ending! Why did Shrek need a 4th film. The whole "never born" plot like I said is more of a TV show episode, and obviously a carbon copy of It's A Wonderful Life-which to be honest, I didn't really like either. In addition, what made the first two Shrek films so great were all the jokes they made with the fairy tales. Here, this film has almost nothing to do with the franchise's fairy tale theme other than the characters they already have. I don't remember too many things about this film that made me laugh. Even that scene where Donkey re-meets with Dragon felt ruined. It was a great sweet joke in the first film but ugh! It was just ruined! Yeah, for the most part there's just not for me to recommend. If you want to see Shrek Forever just to see the Shrek characters one last time, then go ahead. But I'd rather go back to the first two films and not watch this one. Megamind Megamind is probably a film that I'd say it's a one time thing. It already has a fairly decent parody to it that really shouldn't be overdone. The funny thing is, it's a satire of the whole superhero/supervillain business. I like how Megamind's super-villain business is made fun of. Like how Roxanne is so used to Megamind's kidnapping and death traps, he can't surprise her anymore. Two other funny moments are when Megamind and Metro Man have that comeback argument about Megamind's trap and when he takes over Metro City. Minion says he thought this day would never ever come, Megamind glares at him, and Minion shuts up. And the duo have some silly moments here and there. Something I never understood is how Hal, or Titan as he is now called had a crush on Roxanne. I didn't really find her that attractive. And throwing her really high in the air so he could save her kind of freaked me out. I would have felt terrified if I was Roxanne. So the best way I can describe Megamind is...silly. I think satire films like this should just stay as one thing so that it doesn't ruin anything. At least that's what I think, Kung Fu Panda 2 All right, so you know I love the original Kung Fu Panda film and consider of the greatest animated films of all time. But what about Kung Fu Panda 2? It's even better than the 1st! I naturally got so hyped up for this film, and a lot of it exceeded my expectations. It's got a great story, more balance between comedy and drama, and even some darkness! Let's look at the good stuff. The story is another one of those "discovering past involving a lost family", but this time Dreamworks is doing something different. It dives into what happened rather than actually meeting the long-lost parent (which happens in the 3rd movie, but I'll get to that later). The idea was to teach martial arists and probably anyone in general that we need to conquer their inner troubles before they take on their responsibilities. In addition, Po is progressing through his martial arts, and with his relationship with the Furious Five-particularly Tigress. They do have one argument, but it doesn't go on for too long and it doesn't hurt me. Lord Shen is a great villain. Initially, I wasn't fond of the idea of a peacock for a villain, but once I saw his feathered blades, army, and weapons, I realized he makes a great brains villain. You take a listen to Gary Oldman's dark voice and tell me that it doesn't seem chilling! Another thing I should note that this film was pretty intense drama in it, particularly during the flashback of the panda massacre. This movie made my sister cry! That's a darn impressive aspect-uh, without making it too sad for me. I don't know what else to say! I love it, and I know I will watch it plenty more times in the future! Puss In Boots Puss In Boots was the first theatrical spin off I ever recall being seen on the big screen. I guess Puss must have gotten so much popularity during his time on the Shrek franchise. Well, I do like the character, but I don't think he's funny enough to get his own spin off movie. And sadly, I thought this movie was pretty boring. I think spin-off prequels should either explain an impact the characters had on the main films or just be really entertaining on its own. But in my opinion, it is nether. There's too much sunset colors on Mexico or Spain, or wherever this takes place and it doesn't have that much to do with fairy tales like the 1st and 2nd Shrek films do. I didn't even find his friendships with Humpty Dumpty or Kitty Softpaws that interesting. Overall, I don't hate this movie, I just don't recall it doing anything for me. If you like it, good. It's just not really for me. Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted Now we come to the pinnacle of the Madagascar series-Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted! Everything about this film catches viewers' interests-characters, story, and of course humor. The movie starts off with such a wild chase through Monte Carlo and leads to the circus where our main characters' lives are changed. I really like how the Zoosters help the circus animals re-discover their passions and perform visually incredible and colorful performances. The colors are wild and the 3-D effects just dazzle me! There are some new good characters, mainly Stephano the sea lion with the comedic voice of Martin Short performing an Italian accent, Gia the sweet jaguar, and Vitaly the tiger who originally lost his passion but as a strong personality-in terms of knife throwing. Those times when he threw knives made me laugh. Captain DuBois is a great villain, a million times better than Cruella DeVil! She is infamous and amazing at encountering obstacles like slippery roads, walls, and even Italian policemen. Nothing can get in her way! Her devious actions and movements crack me up! Now I hate to spoil the ending, but the way it's set up was just so surprising! When the Zoosters get to the Central Park Zoo, they realize that their adventures changed them too much and that the zoo is not really what's best for them. I never would have suspected that! I hope Madagascar 4 gets cancelled, because I can't see a better sequel than this, It's funny, it's colorful, and it's visually stunning. I really enjoyed watching it and the other 2 movies, and I see no reason why not to check it out. The Croods As Dreamworks films go, The Croods is probably one that I would put in my okay category. I don't feel like it has a lot of the great story or humor that some of the other franchises, but it's not terrible. It has that overprotective father cliche that we've already seen with King Triton from the Little Mermaid of Marlin from Finding Nemo, but Grug seems too focused and serious a lot of the time. Another thing about Grug that I couldn't get into was his voice actor, Nicholaus Cage whom I'm not a fan of. I'm not sure of it's his characters or the actor himself that I just don't like. And there's the stereotypical family you'd expect from something like this; the sweet wife, the cute baby, the son who has to be tough for his dad, the cranky mother-in-law, you get the point. They're not bad, just okay. I'll give the film some credit for it's weird nature with all those pre-historic creatures like that McCawnivore or that wierd bird and so on and so forth. Since this is a caveman movie, it does make sense that nature itself is the main antagonist, mostly the earthquake they are trying to escape from. I guess there are a few things that stand out, like Belt and his " Dun dun duuuun" line. I have a friend who loves to imitate that. There's also that McCawnivore cat thingy, with a cool feline design. I'd say my biggest highlight is when the Crood family keeps inventing so many things in funny ways, like shoes, snapshots, hugs, and so on and so forth. Other than that, there's not much else for me to say about The Croods. There's nothing phenomenal about it, but nothing awful either. It;s okay, but I don't think I'd see it again. Look out for part 4. Category:Inactive blogs